Don't Laugh, The NFL Should Be Scared To Death Of The San Francisco 49ers

Despite the fact that they won 13 games and had one of the NFL's
best defenses, the San Francisco 49ers aren't generating
much buzz as a Super Bowl sleeper.

That's largely because they're boring and don't have a good
quarterback and kick field goals like it's no one's business.

But in a year when the league is relatively wide open, they might
be the best bet to surprise people and win it all.

Here's why:

They're the only team that can slow down the Packers and
Saints. To get through the NFC, you need some semblance of a pass defense.
The 49ers have one. They rank only 16th in the league in passing
yards allowed, but that's misleading since their run defense is
so good that teams almost exclusively pass on them. San Fran has
played three elite passing teams (Detroit, Philly, and the
Giants), and held each of them under their season average for
points (-10, -2, and -5, respectively).

Their offensive woes are a little misleading.
The Niners offense isn't great (11th in the league). But it's not
terrible either. Consider this: San Fran played seven
games against top-10 scoring defenses. In addition, they
run the ball so much that they aren't going to put up the gaudy
scoring numbers of the Packers and Saints. But they've dominated
nonetheless.

The road through the NFC isn't as tough as it
seems. They get the Saints at home, on a sloppy grass
field. No one wants to play the Saints right now, but those
conditions are ideal. Then, they'd likely get the Packers in the
NFC Championship — they're trending downward and are trying to
skate by with all sorts of injuries along the offensive line.